Trinity County News 2

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Apple Springs runner Dakota Campbell looks for room during the Eagles’ 48-0 loss to Ovilla Christian on Sept. 10. (Photo by Tony Farkas/TCNS)

TCNS staff

It was a tough week for football as Trinity County teams — Apple Springs and Groveton — were held scoreless in their respective games.

The Apple Springs Eagles 6-man team fell to the Ovilla Christian Eagles 48-0 on Sept. 10. 

After a sustaining the opening drive down to the goal line of Ovilla, Apple Springs could not muster much offense, and the defense couldn’t stop the Ovilla running game.

Also, the Groveton Indians lost to the Joaquin Rams 62-0 on the road.

Thirty-five of Joaquin’s points came in the first half.

Apple Springs is to face Huntsville Alpha Omega JV at 6 p.m. Thursday. Groveton will host Shelbyville at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The Trinity County Commissioners’ Court got one step closer to approving its next budget.

The court discussed budget matters and request at a special meeting on Sept. 7, but took no action.

However, the court did submit its proposed tax rates, which will drop some; the proposed no-new revenue tax rate is $0.5309 per $100 valuation, and the proposed voter approval tax rate is $0.6023.

In 2020, the no-new-revenue tax rate was set at $0.6340 per $100 valuation, and the voter approval tax rate was $0.6328.

Additional revenue is expected, however, through a jump in property values and federal grants.

Commissioners also went through each department’s budget, but again took no action.

In other business, the county:

• approved bids for chip sealing Helmic-Apple Springs Road, Joe Bailey Road and Jim Butler Road, for a total estimated cost of $52,750;
• changed the name of a road in the Westwood Shores subdivision of Trinity from Winding Creek to Twisting Creek to avoid duplicate road names in the same postal area;
• approved the use of county equipment to remove dirt piles from Glenwood Cemetery for the association running the cemetery;
• approved an agreement with Lann Smith to repair drainage issues at 207 Port Blvd.;
• delayed enacting a burn ban until the Sept. 14 meeting;
• approved a resolution setting Nov. 2 as election day for Texas constitutional amendments; and
• approved the county’s holiday schedule for FY 2021-22, which now includes Juneteenth, and the Commissioners Court meeting schedule.

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Wells girls first-place with Head Coach Jason Ashworth. (Courtesy Photos)

TCNS staff

CENTERVILLE — The Lady Bulldogs took second and the boys team fourth during the Centerville Junior High School basketball tournament, held Sept. 9-11.

For the girls, first went to Wells, who went 3-0; second, Centerville, 2-1; third, Kennard, 1-2; and fourth, Leggett, 0-3.

For the boys, first went to Wells, 3-0; second, Kennard, 2-1; third, Centerville, 1-2; and fourth, Leggett, 0-3.

Individual Results, Girls

MVP — Gracie Hise, Wells, 17.6 points per game.

1st Team All-Tournament: Kaitlyn Collins, Wells, 5 points per game; Brooke Taylor, Centerville, 2 points per game; Peyton Noack, Centerville, 3 points per game; Makenzie Cole, Kennard, 8 points per game; Chey Anne Simons, Leggett, 2.6 points per game.

Individual Results, Boys:

MVP — Slade Tarrant, Wells, 14 points per game.

1st Team All-Tournament: Roy Gardner, Wells, 13 points per game; Devante Tolliver, Kennard, 10.3 points per game; Demari Tolliver, Kennard, 13.6 points per game; Iain Kendrick, Centerville, 13.3 points per game; Hardy Brown, Centerville, 16.3 points per game; T.J. Fletcher, Leggett, 9.6 points per game.

Centerville girls second-place with Head Coach Geoffrey Hollis.Girls MVP Gracie Hise and First Team All-Tournament Kaitlyn Collins, both, Wells.

First Team All-Tournament: Brooke Taylor (left) and Peyton Noack, Centerville.

First Team All-Tournament Hardy Brown (left) and Iain Kendrick, Centerville.

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By Tony Farkas
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — While some agencies claim that 2020 Census figures are skewed toward larger population centers, the estimates available for Trinity County show an estimated gain of 298.

The 2020 population estimate shows Trinity County to have a population of 14,883, up from the 2010 Census figure of 14,585.

Groveton, the county seat, should hit an estimated population of 1,030, down slightly from the 2010 figure of 1,057; and Trinity should reach 2,800, up from 2,697.

The bulk of the county’s population is rural, and that is expected to rise to 11,053 from 10,831.

However, Lonnie Hunt, executive director of Deep East Texas Council of Governments, said at a recent meeting that according to his figures, rural counties in the DETCOG area, with few exceptions, are expected to take a dip, some as much 15 ½ percent.

For instance, his figures show that Trinity County population will drop my almost 1,000.

Trinity County Judge Doug Page said he does not believe Census figures are accurate based on building activity within the county over the last few years.  

“The way the Census was done this cycle concerned me that we may get bad numbers,” he said. “This will be an impact to projects for the county moving forward as lots of grant applications are based on population.”

Hunt said during his comments at the meeting that the Census was flawed in that there were not enough workers and there was little to no follow-through on mailed forms. The upshot of that is if the numbers hold, rural counties could lose funding and even legislative representation.

Page agreed, saying the Census Bureau needs to take a good look at its procedures for the future.

The final Census figures are not due to be released until 2022, according to information on census.gov.